Manhattan Electrification

This article was initially written as part of the IEEE STARS program.

Citation

The first quarter century of electric utility operation in New York City represented a technological road map of the engineering and development of practical systems from the primitive arc street lamps of 1881 to the established commercial and industrial supplies of 1906.

Essay

Introduction

The first 20 years of electric power development in Manhattan represents the birth of commercial utility systems in what is still the world’s most densely concentrated site of electrical load. Commercial sales began with the Brush Electric Company’s arc light contracts to illuminate major streets and Madison Square Park in 1881. Edison opened the Pearl Street station the following year, introducing the concept of metered power sales for interior lighting and eventually electrically powered equipment. Subsequent development was delayed by political issues until 1888, when Edison opened ‘‘vertical’’ stations in midtown. midtown.

The first competition appeared in 1889 when Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company introduced alternating current (ac) lighting to lower Manhattan through its acquisition of the United Electric Light & Power Company. Despite continued technical problems, Westinghouse and United initiated 60 Hz ac in Manhattan below 59th Street by the end of 1896. At that time, prevailing theory favored direct current (dc) distribution due to power loss in ac distribution systems. However, dc generation was impractical given the limited distribution range of low-voltage dc power. The continued construction of power stations to supply neighborhoods was also economically and logistically impossible. Therefore, the Edison Company began planning for large-scale generation based on 25-Hz ac transmission to local substations, where the voltage was reduced and converted to dc for distribution to customers. United, echoing the belief of Westinghouse, sought to provide a complete ac system and began research in concert with Westinghouse engineers to address the power losses encountered in ac distribution systems.

In 1899, Westinghouse extended its systems beyond Edison’s northern limit at 135th Street to offer ac to customers anywhere on the island. The limitations of the ac motors available at that time, however, discouraged the use of ac by customers. The Edison Company continued to supply 90 percent of the commercial power on Manhattan and constructed the Waterside generating station as a central facility. The expansion of the Edison Company territory was funded by mergers and acquisition of smaller companies, an effort spearheaded by financier Anthony N. Brady with technical direction by Thomas E. Murray. That effort was so successful that within five years the load forecast for ten years was in sight and a second Waterside station was constructed. Thus, an entire industry had been created that was vital to urban life and commerce.

Timeline

• 1900, date 1
• 1902, date 2
• 1905, date 3

Bibliography

References of Historical Significance

Lamme, B. G. ‘‘Synchronous Motors for Regulation of Power Factor and Line Pressure.’’ A paper presented to a meeting of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, June 1904.

Murray, Thomas E. Electric Power Plants: A Description of a Number of Power Stations (New York: 1910).

Murray, Thomas E. Power Stations (New York, 1922).

References for Further Reading

Cunningham, Joseph J. Manhattan Power (North Charleston, SC: 2013).

Cunningham, J. J. ‘‘Architect of Power: Thomas E. Murray and New York’s Electrical System,’’ IEEE Power & Energy Magazine 10, no. 2 (March–April 2012), pp. 80–94.

Cunningham, J. J. ‘‘An AC Pioneer: United Electric Light & Power Co.,’’ IEEE Power & Energy Magazine 11, no. 3 (May–June 2013), pp. 84–98; corrections, idem 11, no. 5 (September–October 2013), p. 6–7.

Freedberg, Ernest. The Age of Edison: Electric Light and the Invention of Modern America (New York: 2013).

Hughes, Thomas P. Networks of Power: Electrification in Western Society, 1880–1930 (Baltimore: 1983). Israel, Paul. Edison: A Life of Invention (New York: 1988).

Jones, Payson. A Power History of the Consolidated Edison System, Compiled as a Reference Work from Original Documentary and Other Sources, with Especial Reference to the Menlo Park and Pearl Street Origins of the System (New York: 1940).

Thirty Years of New York, 1882–1912: Being a History of Electrical Development in Manhattan and the Bronx (New York: 1913).

Usselman, Steven W. ‘‘From Novelty to Utility: George Westinghouse and the Business of Innovation during the Age of Edison,’’ Business History Review 66 (Summer 1992), p. 251–304.

About the Author

Joseph J. Cunningham's interests in electric power systems dates to his high school science project, ‘‘The Theory and Operation of Alternating Current,’’ which won a first-place gold medal. This led to a scholarship for the study of physics at St. Francis College. He has researched and authored numerous booklets, articles, and books on topics including industrial electrification, electric utility power systems, and electric rail transportation. He has lectured on and taught the history of electric technology and has consulted on numerous history projects and television productions. His latest book is New York Power (2013).